On the heels of a ramped up prototype program in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship this year, Ford is poised to expand its sports car racing efforts to new heights, which includes a targeted return to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Multiple industry sources have confirmed to Sportscar365 that the Detroit automaker is evaluating a factory GT program that will see Ford take on the likes Chevrolet, Dodge, Porsche and BMW with an ACO GTE-spec car built around the new-for-2016 regulations.

Considerations are also ongoing for a LMP2 engine supply program utilizing its EcoBoost powerplant currently used in TUDOR Championship DP cars.

It’s believed the GTE project is centered around the latest incarnation of the Ford GT production car, which could launch for the 2016 model year and coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ford’s first overall win at Le Mans.

A proposal for a Ford Mustang GTE car, built and developed by Multimatic, was shot down by top-level executives last year but talks have continued for the blue oval to have a significant presence in the production-based class with the yet-to-be-announced model.

It’s unclear what affect, if any, Ford’s potential programs would have on its current factory-backed DP operation in the TUDOR Championship with partner teams Chip Ganassi Racing and Michael Shank Racing, which began this year.